Shaft-connecting swivel and gearing



F.'W-. STEWART.

SHAFT CONNECTING SWIVEL AND GEARING.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14.1919.

6 Patented-Aug. 29, 1922.

Ira @1116; 1 mmwho Fi FRANELIN 'W'. STEWART, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHAFT-GOILINECTII-TG Sl/VIVEL AND GEARING.

Application filed June 14,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, FRANKLIN W. STEWART, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Shaft- Connecting Swivels and Gearing, of which thefollo ing is aspecification.

My invention relates to a shaft-connecting swivel and gearing, adaptedfor use in con nection with automobile speedoineters, and otherwise.-Its general object is'to provide a swivel combining mechanicalefficiency, durability, ruggedness, and manufacturing ease, with otheradvantages. To these ends it consists in the combinations,constructions, and arrangement of parts hereinafter et forth andparticularly claimed,reference being had to the accompanying drawingswherein: 1

Fig. 1 is a side elevation with parts in section showing the swivelconnection in design particularly intended for use with an automobilespeedometer; Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is asection on line.33 of Fig. 1; and Figs. l, 5 and G are details ofbearing parts.

The driving and driven shafts 10 and 11, lying in parallel horizontalplanes enter barrels 12 and 13 which are tangential to the respectivebody-sections of the horizontally-split connecting-shell M, throughwhich there extendsthe intermediate shaft 15. and thereduction-gear-connection between the respective driving and drivenshafts. The gear connection, as is usual in this class of devices,maintains operative relation between the drivingand driven shafts towhatever angular relation the driving and driven shafts may be turned bythe swiveling of the two shell sections.

The drive shaft 10 carries worm wheel 17 and beyond said gear has areduced bearing-extension 18, the soft metal barrel, generally of brass,affording for the shaft a long bearing protected at its outer end by asuit able grit and water resisting washer 9.0 of felt and beingreinforced by a hard bearing washer 21 close to the gear. Thegearreceiving enlargement; of the barrel is closed at its end. by asteel nut 22 threaded into the barrel enlargement and provided with arecess 23 to receive the slender bearing extension 18 of the shaft.Perfect alignment, minimization of bearing-wear and gear-wear andconsequent liability to play or noise, as

Specification of Patent.

Patented Aug. 2? llllZfi J.

1919. Serial No. sea-pee.

The driven shaft barrel 13 has both its ends threaded to receive,interchangeably, a head 24L and collar 25, the former recessed at 26 toreceive the reduced bearing extension 27 or driven shaft 11, while thesleeve as bllllS very accur ly positioned and maintained, and the shaftis reversible'for right and left-hand installations, the gear 2?;occupying the same space in either position. i

The swiveling body let of the shell is usually subject to considerableturning action and it is highly important that its wear be minimized andthat its parts he held always in proper vertical register. Adjacent theplane of their connection 1 enlarge both the lower and upper sections 29and 30, of the shell. and give their. large, steel-linedbearingsurface's. ln theparticular construction shown and preferred, theupper body member 29 has its enlarged belt or flange, 31, recessed andin the recess is seated a s eel bearing ring 32 having a flange 33, abottom 34.- anecone the latter projecting downwardly. Th element maybest be formed of a single piece as by stamping it from sheet metal. Aprotecting washer, 36, g'ireferably of felt, is fitted against thebottom 84-. g I the shell-bottom 28 is preferably of smaller diameterthan .tlange 33 of the first-men tioned bearing member, and its upperend is sheathed with a bearing member 38; having a rim portion 39, andend 4:0 and a cone ll. These coacting steel bearing parts may bedrive-fitted or otherwise rigidly attached to the softer material of theshell and their cones nest accurately, the upper flange 31 ever-hangingthe edge of the lower conemember as a dripshi.eld. The two conicalsurfaces give a very large, accurate and selfcentering bearing, amplyprotected against dust and. water by the washer 36, and having bothlateral and vertical bearing contact for maintaining perfect alignment,

The twe beveled gears s3 and meshing with the respective driven anddriving gea 28 and 1'? are connected by a sleeve and dey rotate togetherabout the fixed shaft 15 which is mounted in the housing and secures theswiveled halves thereof together. The upper longitudinally scored end ofthe shaft is driven into the shell and fixed against ver tical movementby a snap ring so; its threaded lower end, passing through a reinforcingcollar 47 driven in the lower end of the shell and receiving the nut 48.The nut may be held by a lock washer 49 and preferably bears upon aspring washer 50 which is capable of taking up any slight vertical playbetween the shell sections, which otherwise might occur due to wear.This spring washer, however, is not always necessary in practice.

It will be observed that with the construction described I provi'de aswivel joint of greatest durability and efficiency, the gearing, (whichmay be made for any desired speed-relation or differentiation betweenthe two shafts) having their spiral pairs most accurately retained inmesh and most adequately supported against all wear-engenderingside-strains and end-thrusts, and a highly important, and ordinarily amost vulnerable point of the construction,--the swivel oint,-beingespecially fortified, given very large bearing surfaces without undueenlargement of the construction, and made substantially self-centeringand selftightening.

' While I have herein described in some detail a particularembodiment ofmy invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatchanges in details might be made Without departure from the spirit of myinvention within-the scope of the appended claims.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a swivel joint for geared shafting, the combination of meetingshell sections each having a barrel, driving and driven shafts mountedin the shaftbarrels and connections including a shaft extending throughand retaining the meeting shell sections, said shell sections havingenlarged plain bearing surfaces interfitting on lines angular to theaxis of the shell to tend to grind together,

and prevent both endwise and sidewise non-' fitting, under wear. 2. In aswivel connection for shafts, the combination of a pair of shaftbarrels, each having a main shaft receptive bearing portion and an endclosure provided with a bearing recess, a shaft in each of said barrelshaving a gear between its ends and a main bearing portion and anend-bearing portion beyond said gear said end bearing portion beingjournaled in the closure-recess, aconnecting shaft, gearing positionedby said connecting shaft andmeshing with the gears of the first namedshafts, and a two-part shell body, each part carrying one of saidbarrels, said body part having confronting enlargements for swivelbearing, and wear-members thereon interfitting on lines angular to theaxis of the shell.

8. In a swivel connection for shaft members, a shell comprising twotransverselyseparable, aligning portions, each said portion carrying abarrel, the confronting parts of said aligning portions being enlarged,corresponding wear cones carried by said enlarged portions, and acentral member uniting said portions.

4;. In a shaft swivel, the combination with the shaft members, barrelstherefor, connecting gearing, a two-part body therefor, each partthereofcarrying one of said barrels tangentially, nesting wear-members at themeeting portions of said shell sections, one thereof being channeled toreceive be tween it and the opposingmeniber a washer, the washer, and acentral vshaft connecting the casing-body parts. I

5. In a shaft swivel casing, the combination'of two body sections havingmeeting enlargements, wcar-linings fitted to said enlargements, onethereof being channeled and receiving the end of the other within itschannel, and a connection between said sections.

6. In a swivel joint for geared shafting, the combination of. meetingshell sections each having a barrel, driving and driven shafts mountedin the shaft-barrels and con nections including a shaft extendingthrough and retaining the meeting shell sections, said shell sectionshaving opposed, enlarged, plain bearing surfaces disposed at an obliqueangle to the axis of the connection-shaft and interfitting to givelateral and longitudinal pressure between the surfaces and make thebearing self-centerin rRAnKfiI-N w. STEWART.

